Helen

The most common beginning of Helen’s story involves four goddesses, an apple, and a prince of Troy. However, Helen’s story began long before that. Helen was the daughter of Leda, a mortal woman, and Zeus, and she possessed exceptional beauty. She had two brothers, Castor and Pollux, who were also children of Zeus. Leda would go on to marry Tyndareus, who was Helen's stepfather. When Helen was seven, she was kidnapped by Theseus, who would later kill the minotaur, and Pirithous, a companion of Theseus, who had long since harbored the ambition of marrying a daughter of Zeus. Theseus and Pirithous took Helen to the city of Aphidnae. There, they gave Helen into the care of Theseus’ mother. Then, Theseus and Pirithous set off for the Underworld, so Pirithous could kidnap Persephone and marry her. Hades, knowing of their plot, killed Pirithous and imprisoned Theseus. Castor and Pollux, Helen’s brothers, led an army to invade Aphidnae and rescue Helen.

When Helen was ready to be wed, there were many suitors vying for her hand. Almost all the eligible men of Greece, including kings or princes backed by armies and wealth, had shown up. Helen’s stepfather, Tyndareus, did not know how to choose a husband for her without offending the men who were not chosen. Eventually, he settled on an oath. Every man who wanted the chance to marry Helen would have to swear to defend her marriage—in other words, fight to get her back—if another man kidnapped her. Helen eventually chose to marry Menelaus, who would become King of Sparta. Unfortunately, no one was prepared for a Trojan man to take her.

The story of the Trojan War begins with Eris, the goddess of discord. She tossed a golden apple inscribed with the words ‘to the fairest’ into a celebration at Mount Olympus. Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite all believed they deserved the apple and started arguing. Zeus, King of the Gods, decided that Paris, a prince of Troy, would decide who among the goddesses was the most beautiful. Upon reaching Paris, all three goddesses tried to bribe him. Athena offered him wisdom, Hera offered him a kingdom, and Aphrodite offered him the most beautiful woman in the world—Helen of Sparta. Paris chose Aphrodite and went to collect his prize, never mind that she was already married. However, Hera and Athena, feeling spurned by Paris, ordered Hermes to switch the real Helen with an eidolon, or a copy of her. The eidolon went to Troy with Paris, and the real Helen was sent to Egypt. Helen stayed in Egypt for ten long years, and she could not tell anyone what had happened to her. Hermes had made sure she knew that she was a prize offered up in a contest between goddesses, but she could not tell her husband that the Helen the Greeks were fighting to reclaim was a mere copy. Theoclymenus, the ruler of Egypt, kept close watch over her, as he did not want to bring the wrath of the goddesses down on his head.

When Menelaus, Helen’s husband, discovered that Paris had taken Helen, he declared war on Troy. Because all the suitors of Helen had sworn to defend her marriage, regardless of who was chosen as her husband, Menelaus had many allies, including Agamemnon and Odysseus. They set sail, and Helen became the face that launched a thousand ships. Even Egypt heard that moniker, and Helen despaired. She had hoped to make it back to her country and her kingdom before the war truly started, but with each passing day, it became clearer and clearer that she was not going to be able to escape. The Trojan War was long and bitterly fought. Odysseus eventually came up with the plan of the Trojan horse, and the Greeks breached the walls of Troy. Menelaus found the eidolon of Helen and set off with her back to Sparta. However, Menelaus’ ship was caught in a storm and shipwrecked on the coast of Egypt. Menelaus left his men with the eidolon of Helen and ventured into the Kingdom of Theoclymenus, the ruler of Egypt. In this kingdom, he saw the real Helen. Menelaus was aghast. There was an eidolon of his wife right here in Egypt! He accused Helen of being an eidolon, saying that he had taken Helen back from the Trojans. Helen told him all that had transpired in the ten years they had been apart, including that Aphrodite had promised her to Paris, and the Helen that Menelaus had taken from Troy was a copy. Menelaus did not believe her. Helen was upset at first. She had held onto hope for ten years, believing that once the war was over, someone who could get word to Menelaus would come to Egypt. She had not allowed herself to consider what would happen if Menelaus did not believe her. Helen could understand not wanting to face the fact that a ten-year war had been fought for nothing--countless were men dead, women had been raped and enslaved, lives were ruined. Still, if Helen could not get back to Sparta...But one of the crew found Menelaus and told him that the Helen they had taken from Troy had vanished into thin air. Menelaus commissioned a ship from the King of Egypt, and they started their voyage back to Sparta. On the way back, Helen thought about what she knew of eidolons. Clearly, if none of the Trojans--and even her husband--had recognized that Helen was not actually Helen, there might not be a way to distinguish an eidolon from the real thing. Helen would have to be sure that Sparta knew that the Helen who had gone to Troy was an eidolon of her. She was Queen of Sparta, and it would not do for the people of Sparta to lose faith in their Queen or the King who brought her home.